Duck Roast with Barley Prune Stuffing

Name: Duck Roast with Barley Prune Stuffing (Batt Bil Arasia)
Cuisine: Egyptian
Ingredients: 4 pieces of mastic resin; 4 bay leaves; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 2 cinnamon sticks; 2 star anise; 5 cardamom pods; 1 kg (2¼ lb) pearl or cipollini onions, peeled (and defrosted if frozen); 1 kg (2¼ lb) pearl or cipollini onions, peeled (and defrosted if frozen); 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses; 1 tbsp melted butter, plus extra to brush the duck; 1 tbsp melted butter, plus extra to brush the duck; 200 g (7 oz) pearl barley; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 100 g (3½ oz) prunes, pitted and roughly chopped; 1 cinnamon stick; ¼ tsp ground allspice; Sea salt and ground black pepper; Sea salt and ground black pepper

Batt Bil Arasia

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Egypt

By Suzanne Zeidy and Rawah Badrawi

Published 2026

About

Duck is a specialty bird in Egyptian cuisine, with roots dating back to ancient times. Fayoum is home to a variety of domesticated ducks such as the Mascovy (pronounced Mas-cof-e in Arabic) and baladi (local) ducks. A duck sourced from Fayoum is considered a delicacy in Egypt and a great gift to lovers of birds.

There are a few ways to prepare duck in Egyptian cuisine. There is the bil marta style, popular in Port Said and Damietta, where the

Ingredients

Africa
Egypt
Fayoum
Port Said
Damietta
Main course
Mediterranean

Ingredients

Method